Entering an Exhibition

Please refer to complete text in handbook. If you have a concern about your piece, speak to the curator before submission day.

Matting and Framing Guidelines

Materials

All components—mats, backing boards, adhesives—should be acid free.

Glass should be nick and scratch free and the edges should be sanded.

Glass should be clean on both sides. Use window cleaner.

Acrylic is lighter than glass, doubles the cost, scratches easier and needs a special cleaner.

Mats

There should be no visible over cuts.

Borders should be about three inches wide.

The mat should be weighted (wider) at the bottom so as not to give the impression of having the photo fall off the page (e.g., top 3 ¼”, sides 3 ¼”, bottom 3 ½”).

Burnish the beveled edges after cutting the inside opening to smooth them and eliminate fuzziness. Burnish the edges of purchased mats. If cutting your own mats use a sharp blade and change frequently to avoid curves and fuzzy edges.

Assembling your photo

Hinge the mat and backing board at the top using a strip of archival tape.

Hinge photo on the backing board using archival tape making two or three hinges depending on the length of the photo, or hinge photo on the back of the mat board.

Alternately, photo corner mounts can be attached to all four corners or just to support the bottom edge.